IKEA Bahrain hosts Family Day ahead of opening
MANAMA, August 28, 2018
IKEA Bahrain today (August 28) played host to more than 1,500 guests at the Family Day event held at the stores premises ahead of the the Swedish furniture giant's much-anticipated opening in the kingdom.
The event, which served as an operational test for store, saw IKEA employees’ family members and those from contracting company and media, get a sneak peek into the store.
It was the first time all departments were running their full range of operations in a live, controlled environment, said the statement from IKEA Bahrain.
“Our employees each invited four family members to attend the event before the store officially opens,” remarked IKEA Bahrain Store Manager Fatima Gustafson.
To date, all IKEA employees have undergone rigorous training to ensure they perform well. “The IKEA Family Day is an opportunity to conduct an operational test wherein we invite people to shop and help us prepare to operate the store in the best way. This will identify if we have gaps in the process,” explained Gustafson.
"It is important for us to run smooth operations to take care of our customers and give them a good shopping experience,” she said.
“From a safety perspective, it will allow us to take care of the store environment so both customers and IKEA store co-workers can be in safe environment,” she added.
Gustafson said based on the team’s observations, insights and family interactions, adjustments could be made to the processes.
“Guests will be able to make themselves feel at home and truly experience the shopping journey at IKEA, with all room settings built entirely from IKEA products,” she noted.
Adding to the customer’s experience, each area in the showroom will have a sales desk where specialists can answer questions or offer home furnishing advice.
"Customers will find that everything in store has price tags that also contain important information about size, colour, craftsmanship, measurements, features and care. Tags on large items will also tell customers where to pick them up in the self-serve furniture area," observed Gustafson.
The IKEA Bahrain store will also include a market hall, where customers can find everything from rugs to linens, picture frames to clocks, kitchen accessories to home lighting and even unique gifts.
:Customers can take a break and relax at the IKEA restaurant where they can enjoy breakfast and beverages both Swedish and local dishes," she noted.
"On their way to the checkout counters, visitors will pass through the self-serve section where they can pick up the flat-packages of items displayed in the room settings. The packages are easy to transport for customers, and help keep prices low through customer involvement," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
